Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless vs MOMENTUM 5 Wireless

Sennheiser announced MOMENTUM 4 Wireless (model M4AEBT) on 9 August 2022 and MOMENTUM 5 Wireless on 26 May 2026, nearly four years later. Sennheiser rated each pair’s battery in its own test, on an iPhone at mid volume, so the three-hour drop is two separate results rather than one test that shows a loss.

Same battery capacity, now replaceable

Both use a 700 mAh lithium-ion cell. On MOMENTUM 4 Wireless it’s built in. On MOMENTUM 5 Wireless you can swap it yourself: Sennheiser says it takes a small Phillips screwdriver and a few minutes, with no service center, and that the sound doesn’t change afterwards. That matters if you keep headphones until the battery fades.

Both charge over USB-C at 5 volts and up to 800 milliamps, and a full charge takes about 2 hours; Sennheiser warns that charging above 30 degrees Celsius can take longer. Quick charges differ. MOMENTUM 5 Wireless gets up to about 7 hours from 10 minutes. For MOMENTUM 4 Wireless, Sennheiser’s specs say 5 minutes gives up to about 4 hours, while its marketing has also claimed about 6 hours from 10 minutes.

Eight microphones and better voice cancelling, Sennheiser says

MOMENTUM 4 Wireless uses hybrid adaptive noise cancelling with MEMS microphones, two per side, in a beamforming setup; its manual describes four omnidirectional microphones in a 2 by 2 beamforming array. It has Transparency Mode.

MOMENTUM 5 Wireless keeps hybrid adaptive noise cancelling but uses eight digital microphones, and Sennheiser says it reduces midrange voices up to three times more than MOMENTUM 4 Wireless. That’s Sennheiser’s claim. It keeps Transparency Mode and adds an improved Anti-Wind mode. For calls, each side has four MEMS microphones, three for beamforming plus a feedback microphone, with Own Voice Detection and automatic wind-noise suppression.

aptX Lossless and Bluetooth 5.4

MOMENTUM 4 Wireless runs Bluetooth 5.2 (class 1, 10 milliwatts maximum) with SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX Adaptive, over A2DP, AVRCP and HFP. Its manual allows two active connections and up to six saved pairings.

MOMENTUM 5 Wireless moves to Bluetooth 5.4, also class 1 at 10 milliwatts, and adds aptX HD, aptX Lossless and Snapdragon Sound to that list, plus the HSP and GATT profiles. Lossless and Snapdragon Sound need a certified phone or player. Sennheiser says the hardware is ready for Bluetooth 6.0 through a later firmware update, but it ships as a Bluetooth 5.4 headphone. It switches between sources, though Sennheiser doesn’t give a saved-device count. Neither pair has LDAC.

Same driver size, wider wireless range

Both put a 42mm dynamic driver in a closed-back, around-the-ear headband design. Sennheiser says the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless driver is from the same transducer family, made in Tullamore, Ireland, with inspiration from its HD 600 series, and this generation carries Hi-Res Audio certification.

The figures around the driver moved a little. MOMENTUM 4 Wireless has an active impedance of 470 ohms and a passive impedance of 60 ohms, sensitivity of 106 dB SPL at 1 kilohertz and 0 dBFS, and distortion under 0.3 percent at 1 kilohertz and 100 dB SPL. Its response is 6 hertz to 22 kilohertz, which the manual gives as 6 to 22,000 hertz at minus 10 dB. MOMENTUM 5 Wireless has an active impedance of 520 ohms, 108 dB SPL sensitivity at the same point and distortion under 0.2 percent. It reaches 6 hertz to 40 kilohertz over USB and Bluetooth, and 6 hertz to 22 kilohertz on the analog input.

MOMENTUM 5 Wireless also gets Dolby Atmos with head tracking through the Smart Control Plus update. It’s Sennheiser’s own feature, not Apple’s spatial audio, and it needs an Atmos source and supported content. The app is Smart Control Plus, with an eight-band equalizer, presets and Sound Personalization; MOMENTUM 4 Wireless uses Smart Control for its equalizer, sound modes and firmware. Sennheiser lists no dedicated voice-assistant button for either; assistants run through your phone.

Fold, case and weight

Both fold flat. MOMENTUM 4 Wireless folds to 180 × 195 × 46.3 mm (7 × 7.67 × 1.82 in) and comes in a slim hard case. MOMENTUM 5 Wireless folds to 180 × 197 × 47 mm (7.08 × 7.75 × 1.85 in), a few millimeters larger, yet Sennheiser says its case is 20 percent smaller than the last generation’s.

Weight is about 293 grams (10.3 ounces) for MOMENTUM 4 Wireless and about 290 grams (10 ounces) for MOMENTUM 5 Wireless, three grams you won’t notice.

Both play over a cable. MOMENTUM 4 Wireless usually comes with an analog cable and plays passively at 60 ohms when it’s switched off. MOMENTUM 5 Wireless comes with a 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm analog cable, which Sennheiser suggests for flights and laptops, a USB-C charging cable and a carry case.

Sennheiser gives both the same operating limits: use from 0 to 40 degrees Celsius, charge from 10 to 40, store from minus 20 to 60, and 10 to 80 percent humidity in use. Those limits are all it lists; there’s no water or sweat rating for either.

Price and colors

MOMENTUM 4 Wireless launched at $349.95, with pre-orders from announcement day and stores from 23 August 2022. MOMENTUM 5 Wireless launched at $399.99 and went on sale in the US on 16 June 2026. That’s fifty dollars between the launch prices; check Sennheiser for what each costs now.

MOMENTUM 4 Wireless launched in Black and White (article numbers 509266 and 509267) and later added Graphite, Brown, Teal, Copper and Denim. MOMENTUM 5 Wireless comes in Black, White and Denim.